HEYOKA.
§ 217. Waziya and Heyoka are not fully differentiated. Heyoka, according to Riggs,[166] is “the antinatural god.” He is said to exist in four varieties, all of which have the forms of small men, but all their desires and experiences are contrary to nature. In the winter they stand on the open prairie without clothing; in the summer they sit on knolls wrapped in buffalo robes, and yet they are freezing. Each of them has in his hands and on his shoulders a bow and arrows, rattles, and a drum. All these are surcharged with lightning, and his drumstick is a little Wakinyan. The high mounds of the prairies are the places of his abode. He presides over the land of dreams, and that is why dreams are so fantastic.
§ 218. In speaking of the Heyoka gods, Pond says:[167]
Like the Wakinyan, there are four varieties of them, all of which assume in substance the human form, but it would be unnecessarily tedious to note the differences of form, especially as the differences are unimportant. They are said to be armed with the bow and arrows, and with deer-hoof rattles, which things are charged with electricity. One of the varieties carries a drum, which is also charged with the same fluid. For a drumstick he holds a small Wakinyan god by the tail, striking on the drum with the beak of the god. This would seem to us to be an unfortunate position for a god, but it must be remembered that it is “wakan,” and the more absurd a thing is, the more “wakan.”
§ 219. One of these gods in some respects answers to the whirlwind zephyr of Greek mythology. It is the gentle whirlwind which is sometimes visible in the delicate waving of the tall grass of the prairie.[168]
By virtue of their medicine and tonwan powers the Heyoka render aid to such men as revere them, in the chase, or by inflicting and healing diseases, especially those resulting from the gratification of their libidinous passions.
HEYOKA FEAST.
§ 220. Lynd gives an account of the Heyoka feast. He says:[169]
They assemble in a lodge, wearing tall, conical hats, being nearly naked, and painted in a strange style. Upon the fire is placed a huge kettle full of meat, and they remain seated around the fire smoking until the water in the kettle begins to boil, which is the signal for the dance to begin. They dance and sing around it excitedly, plunging their hands into the boiling water, and seizing large pieces of hot meat, which they devour at once. The scalding water is thrown over their backs and legs, at which they never wince, complaining that it is cold. Their skin is first deadened, as I am creditably informed, by rubbing with a certain grass; and they do not in reality experience any uneasiness from the boiling water—a fact which gives their performances great mystery in the eyes of the uninitiated.
§ 221. Dr. Brinton has confounded the Heyoka with the Wakinyan. The two are distinct classes of powers, though there is some connection between them, as may be inferred from the following stories in the Bushotter collection.
§ 222. No Indian belonging to the Heyoka Society ever tells of his own personal mystery. Such things are “wakaŋ,” and not even one man can be induced to sing the Heyoka songs upon an ordinary occasion; because if they sing one of those songs except at the proper time they say that the Thunder-beings would kill the entire households of the offenders. Therefore they object to singing the Heyoka songs and they do not like to speak about them.